Clothesline support



ug 940. H. E. DENNIS 2,2 0, 68

CLOTHESLINE SUPPORT Filed Feb. 23, 1939 Patented Aug. 6, 1940 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to supporting devices, more particularly to devices that are adapted to be secured to the exposed edges of floor-joists, say in the cellar of a home, to provide support 5 for clotheslines and the like. The invention consists in refinements in structure and in structural organization, by virtue of which economy in manufacture, ease of installation, and durability and strength in service are obtained in most effective ratio.

A device embodying the invention is illustrate ed in the accompanying drawing, in which: 7

Fig. I is a view of a floor-joist in cross-section,

, illustrating in side elevation the supporting devicesecured thereto;

. Fig. II is a View of the supporting device in front elevation (as viewed from the left of Fig.

I) and to larger scale;

Figs. III and IV are views comparable with Fig. I,.illustrating certain modifications in detail;

Fig. V is a view in front elevation, and to larger scale, of the device shown in Fig. IV;

And Fig. VI is a view comparable with Fig. I, illustrating still another modified form of the 25 device.

The device of the invention includes essentially a body portion that carries means for securing a clothesline, and means for attaching such body portion to a floor-joist. In position of service the body extends downwardly from the lower edge of the joist, and provides a support for said line at an interval below such edge.

Referring-to the drawing, the body portion of the device is illustrated at l. The means for se- 35 curing such body portion upon the lower edge of a floor-joist 2 advantageously consist in a U- shaped clamp 3. As shown, the clamp 3 is organized at the upper end of the body portion I,

and is adapted to secure the body portion to the 40 lower edge of the joist. The body portion I, ex-- tending downward from such edge of the joist, is provided with a hook, or eye, 4, to which a clothesline L may be fastened or tied; the hook '4 is arranged on one side of the body portion, while on opposite side of the body portion a reenforcement for the assembly I, 3 is arranged. Advantageously such reenforcement consists in a strut that extends angularly upward from the lower end of the body portion l to the clamp 3, as shown. The strap or body portion I and the strut 5 form with the body of the clamp 3 a structural triangle; the base of the triangle is secured to the lower edge of the floor-beam 2 a and the apex of the triangle is directed downward therefrom, providing an anchorage of maximum strengthfor the clothesline.

Any number of the supporting devices may be provided, for supporting a clothesline in the manner desired. And all of the devices may be 5 provided with hooks 4 as described. The opposite ends of the supported clothesline may be tied to the hooks of two of the devices, arranged in terminal positions in the expanse of floor-joists in the cellar, while the associate devices may be so positioned that their hooks 4 provide support for the line at various intermediate points.

. In elaboration, the intermediate supporting devices may be provided with pulleys, as indicated at 6 in Fig. III. Specifically, the lower end of the body portion l of the support may be provided with a foot 60 that afiords support for the pulley 6. The pulley is rotatable upon a vertical axis.

at one end to a terminal supportingdevice of the form shown in Fig. I, may be trained over the pulleys 6 of the intermediate devices (Fig. III); then the free end of the line may be drawn taut and secured to the secondterminal device. The pulleys of the intermediate supports rotate when the line is drawn taut, and permit the removal of slack from all reaches of the line between the several supporting devices.

In still further elaboration, I provide on the second terminal device an automatic rope-clamp; a clamp, that is to say, that is held in line-securing position under the tension of the supported line. Such a clamp is shown in Figs. IV and V. It consists in a vertically extending lever 1 pivoted intermediate its ends in a U-shaped bracket 8 that is welded or otherwise integrated with the body portion la of the device. The lever 1 carries at its upper bifurcated end a grooved wheel 9, while at its lower end it is equipped with a rope-clamping portion l0, whose inner ropeengaging surface may be serrated or grooved, as indicated by the dotted lines II in Fig. V, better to secure the end of the rope or line. In service the otherwise free end of the supported clothesline is trained over the grooved wheel 9 and led downward between the lever I and the body portion la of the support. Then, the projecting end E of the line is pulled downward, until the desired degree of tension is applied to the supported line L. The tension of the supported line, effective in the direction of the arrow in Fig. IV, tends to swing the lever clockwise, with the consequence andeffect that the clamping portion It will be understood that a clothesline. secured IU of the lever regionally presses the line against the face of the body portion la of the support. The so-engaged portion of the line is gripped (not unlike the manner in which the jaws'of a pair of pliers might grip a rope), and the supp-orted line is secured in taut condition.

Having given a general description of the device of the invention, I shall now turn to a consideration of certain refinements in structure and organization.

As already indicated, strength and economy in manufacture are important considerations. With this in mind, it is to be noted that the body I is advantageously formed of a strap of metalin this case of a strap of rolled steel, 1%" in width, 10 in length and in thickness. The clamp 3 is formed of steel. It is a thing of known construction, whose U-shaped body is usually cast of steel and machined, and whose clamping stem is formed of drawn steel rod, bent into L shape and threaded on the major limb of the L. At an interval below the upper end of the device, the body of the strap I is perforated, as at I00 in Fig. II, and the U-shaped clamp 3 is assembled with the strap in such manner that the base of the U extends through the perforation. The organization is such that, in service position, the lower edge of the joist 2 is engaged between the upper end of the strap and the leg 300 (Fig; I) of the clamp. The inner end of the clamping stem 30 bears upon the body of the strap, and the clamping pressure is effective between the strap and the leg 300 of the clamp. This organization affords security and rigidity of assembly. And manifestly the device may be installed upon the joist, or removed, readily and in a moment.

, In case the installation is intended to be more or less permanent, the strap may be nailed to the joist 2, a plurality of nailholes lc (Fig. II) being provided in the upper end of the strap for this purpose.

The reinforcementbetween the strap l and the clamp 3 consists in a f,, steel rod 5, welded or otherwise secured at opposite ends to the strap and clamp, respectively. More specifically,

the rod is welded o-r riveted at its lower end to the lower end portion of the strap, and, extending angularly upward therefrom, is Welded or riveted to the U-shaped clamp, in the region of mergence of the base of the U with the joistengaging leg 300. The relatively light rod, thus organized, provides an effective tension-sustaining strut, and provides rigidity in the loadsustaining body or strap I,

By virtue of the features described, the device is light in weight, sturdy, and inexpensive to construct.

The device may be used upon steel floor-joists, so-called junior beams, and I illustrate in Fig. VI such modifications in structure as adapt the device to this particular circumstance. The beam-engaging leg of the clamp is notched, to receive one edge of the lower flange of the beam 26, while the upper end of the strap is offset from the otherwise continuous plane of the strap, in such manner that engagement may be made with the vertical web of the beam. Manifestly, under the pressure of the clamping stem 30a, the device may be securely locked or clamped upon the beam.

Other modifications than those described are permissible, without departure from the invention defined in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a suspension device for supporting a clothesline comprising a vertical support bodyprovided at its lower end with clothes line-securing means and carrying at its upper end a clamp for securing said support body to a floor joist, the improvements herein described in which said 'support body comprises a metal strap, the body of said clamp extending laterally from the strap, with a reinforcing strut secured to the laterally extending body portion of the clamp and extending downward therefrom and secured at a substantial interval below the clamp to said strap, said strap and clamp and strut providing, when the device is installed upon a floor joist, a rigid structural triangle of high load-sustaining capacity. I

HARRY E. DENNIS. 

